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American-born outside back Marcel Brache has won the Australian National Rugby Championship. Starting on the right wing for the Perth Spirit, Brache played the entire match that saw his side survive a nail-biting second half to defeat the NSW Country Eagles by a score of 20-16 in the Grand Final at Scully Park in Tamworth. The result is a major accomplishment for the Western Australia side, a feeder team to the region’s Super Rugby franchise, the Western Force. In 2014 the Spirit were finalists but were considered underdogs to the Eagles heading into the final.
Brache had a late start to the competition but started the last six games in succession, all on the wing, scoring three tries in the process. A native of Los Angeles, he grew up in South Africa but remains eligible for the Eagles. Having resisted international overtures in the past he now appears set to commit to John Mitchell’s side and is widely tipped to be a surprise inclusion in the squad for the November tests, and with his commitments in Australia now complete until the start of Super Rugby training, he could well make his debut against the New Zealand Māori in Chicago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yWu0a0H7Zs
